Art Prints or Original Art?

By Darren WK Chow

To answer that question, let's start by taking a look at the differences between art prints and original art.

Art prints are reproductions of an original art piece. These can be mass produced by computers and machines. The prices are usually much more affordable, since they're just a duplication of the original art work.

The quality of art prints are dependent on the manufacturing process. Since most art pieces are reproduced digitally, it's sometimes very hard to tell the reproduced art piece from the original one. Digitally reproduced artwork means converting the original artwork into a digital image so that there's little or no data loss. The more data that's retained during this conversion, the better the reproduction will be.

Technology nowadays are so good at duplicating artwork that they can even be programmed to "know" the brush strokes of an artist and reproduce any drawing or painting. In other words, with technology, an exact duplication can be achieved. Or at least the naked eye cannot tell the difference.

So if the reproduction looks exactly the same as the original and costs way much less, would it make sense to purchase an art print instead of an original art work? Would you buy a duplication of the Mona Lisa for $150, or would you rather spend a fortune on the original?

You and I know, deep within us, that the reproduction can never be the same as the original. Because we know that an art piece produced by a machine is just an artifact. It doesn't feel alive, and there's no "soul".

Collectors of art know this. They buy the original because the original is a part of the artist. You can almost feel the artist when you're intuitive enough to feel what goes into a masterpiece. It appears alive. That's something that money cannot buy.

There's only one original. The others, no matter how masterfully duplicated, are just reproductions. They bring the artist further away, not closer, from the collector.

So if you have all the money in the world, would you buy the original or an art print? The answer depends on how close a connection you want with the artist.

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Painting Books - Drive into the World of Creativity

By Isabel Rodrigues

We all like being creative. Our busy schedule hardly gives us any time to spent time with our self’s. Constant focus on work makes our life dull. One of the best ways to make your life colorful is by doing some painting in your spare time. A Painting Book consists of some beautiful and decorative paintings. If you are an artist it will definitely help your cause.

Today you can find many painting book outlets providing some wonderful painting books. If you would like to learn painting you can find a painting book that meets your cause. There are books for beginners that provide step by step guidance of different aspects of painting. These books also provide you with some useful information about color mixing. Painting books are also available for advanced artist. These painting books are highly advanced and drive the artist to new world of creativity.

Painting can be of different types. There are books designed specially for a specific type of painting. A person interested in face painting can find a book specially designed for painting a face. Similarly, a person interested in learning house painting can find a painting book as per his choice. Painting books are also available on tole painting and oil painting. These specially designed books provide various tips and guidelines and train a person into a professional artist.

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Oil Painting Reproductions

By Jason Gluckman

Oil painting reproductions are an affordable way to display replicas of favorite works of art in the home or workplace. A large number of companies in the US provide reproductions of almost any work of art at a surprisingly affordable price. A good reproduction can fool even the trained eye, and is far more appealing and visually satisfying than a paper reprint of any work of art.

Customers can usually order a reproduction in a range of sizes, with larger sizes being more expensive. Once a particular reproduction is requested, an artist who is skilled in the style of the original painter starts creating the reproduction with oil paints on a fresh canvas. Many artists use measurements and a grid system to help them ensure that the scale of the reproduction faithfully follows that of the original painting. Thus, even if the customer chooses a different size than that of the original painting, the dimensions can be scaled up or down to give a finished product that is as close to the original as possible in overall appearance.

Once the artist begins to paint, the canvas is completed in layers. Most artists wait for one layer to dry before painting the next layer. Creating a reproduction is therefore a time-consuming process, and an order may take two to three weeks to complete. Before shipping the finished painting, some companies send the customer a photograph of the painting for approval, and make any suggested changes at no extra cost. Most oil painting reproduction companies also offer frames.

To keep an oil painting reproduction in good condition, it should be displayed out of direct sunlight and in an environment without extreme temperatures or too much moisture. It is best to take the painting to an expert for any repairs and cleaning.

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Is It a Fine Art Print or a Fine Art Reproduction?

By L Elle

When it comes to purchasing art to decorate your home, there is often confusion regarding the terminology used to define different finished pieces; primarily art prints versus art reproductions.

An art print is a finished work which was created by means of a transfer of ink from a matrix (or master) onto a chosen surface. The matrix can be many things depending on the print type, a carved woodblock, a prepared screen, an etched metal plate and countless others. The final image can also be printed upon many different surfaces; most common would be a variety of high quality papers. Prints generally come in editions, and will be numbered and signed by the artist. Printmakers create their work with the intent of multiples, it is the nature of printmaking as an art form; this differs from drawings and paintings of which there is only one final piece.

An art reproduction is an entirely different thing! An art reproduction is a mechanical reproduction of a finished piece of art. In the very simplest terms, if you were to head to the local museum and purchase a poster of The Mona Lisa you would have just purchased an art reproduction! Art reproductions can vary in quality however, from posters to high quality archival images printed on canvas! Giclée prints, for example are very high quality inkjet printouts onto high quality art papers or even canvas! Artists often utilize this process to produce limited editions of their already completed 2 dimensional works.

With the advent of high quality home inkjet printers, there is yet more confusion regarding what is a print and what is a reproduction. Digital art, for example, would seem to be a reproduction as it is produced from an inkjet printer but it is not that simple! If an image is scanned as is, and printed from an inkjet printer it is indeed a reproduction, however if an image was altered or created on a computer with the intent of printing it out onto paper as the ‘final work’ then it is an original (digital) art print.

Armed with a little bit of knowledge the criteria is quite simple, if the final complete image was intended to be realized only once printed, then it is an art print. A reproduction is a piece that is a mechanical reproduction of a work that was already complete via other means. And with that knowledge, you should have no trouble finding beautiful art to surround yourself with!

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